January 25 2007

THERE are some weird and amazing facts and figures in our little world aren't there? Did you know that most car horns honk in the key of F? I wouldn't know what the key of F sounded like anyway but it's good that a musical note can save us.

THERE are some weird and amazing facts and figures in our little world aren't there? Did you know that most car horns honk in the key of F? I wouldn't know what the key of F sounded like anyway but it's good that a musical note can save us.

Names have many connotations to them yet one in particular owes its existence to the writer J. M. Barrie as the name Wendy was made up for his book 'Peter Pan.' A favourite tale of mine, as I am still trying to find my own shadow.

The Barbie doll started life as Barbara Millicent Roberts and has certainly stamped her mark all over the world alongside her boyfriend Ken. Talking of stamps, every time you lick one you consume one tenth of a calorie. Thank goodness for self-adhesive ones or we'd all be putting on weight! Hope you're paying attention and haven't gone to sleep as the average person falls asleep in seven minutes.

The favourite UK pet is the cat and studies show that if a cat falls off the seventh floor of a building it has about 30 per cent less chance of surviving than a cat that falls off the 20th floor! It supposedly takes about eight floors for the cat to realise what is occurring, relax and correct itself. Cats must be real cool rascals when they are under stress, as I doubt I'd be able to make such calculations so quickly. Stomach-churning stuff eh? But did you know that your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks otherwise it will digest itself?

Even soft drinks have a tale to tell. Ever tried 7-UP? It was developed in 1929 and '7' was selected because of the original seven-ounce containers it was sold in, and 'UP' for the direction of the bubbles. I've never known bubbles to go down!

Walt Disney movies have been enjoyed by people all over the world, yet 101 Dalmatians, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and Mulan are the only Disney cartoons where both parents are present and don't die throughout the movie. Oh and Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots. The squeamish of you had better skip the next sentence. A pig's orgasm lasts for 30 minutes. Well, if you know you're going to end up in an oven at gas mark 5 you may as well have something to get excited about! Oink!

For all those typists out there the next fact will come as no surprise. 'Stewardesses' is the longest word that is typed with only the left hand. I'd type it with two hands, sorry fingers, every time. Really getting our teeth into these facts aren't we?

So for those of an adventurous nature who like to go to exotic foreign lands and play with the local animals, here's a proven piece of advice concerning crocodiles. To escape the grip of a crocodile's jaws, push your thumbs into its eyeballs - it will let you go instantly. Don't sue me if it doesn't work!

I have been assured that there is no word in the English language that rhymes with month, orange, silver and purple. A prize to anyone who can prove different. On a more morbid note, a dentist invented the electric chair! That would get anybody dancing around with fear wouldn't it? Anybody like to Samba? The word 'samba' literally means 'to rub navels together.'

The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin during the Second World War killed the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo. Yet animals do have their revenge on us humans, especially donkeys as there are more people killed annually by donkeys than aeroplane crashes.

Thanks to Neil and Ray who told me one of the above facts, it only took them a 'jiffy' and I'll not say which one it was or I'd be telling 'porkies'! A 'jiffy' is a unit of time for 1/100th of a second.